16/09/2020
The World Winter Sports Expo 2020 is successfully held in Beijing as the world’s top ice and snow event: A strong booster to the upcoming Winter Olympics.
On September 9, the World Winter Sports (Beijing) Expo 2020 ("WWSE"), co-sponsored by the Beijing Olympic City Development Association and the International Data Group, co-organized by the Association of the International Olympic Winter Sports Federations (AIOWF) and the seven International Olympic Winter Sports Federations, and supported by the Beijing Organising Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the Chinese Olympic Committee, and the All-China Sports Federation, closed at the China National Convention Center in Beijing.
This WWSE was first held together with the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in the form of a special exhibition of the CIFTIS, opening a new chapter in the development of the WWSE. As one of China's three exhibition platforms for opening up, CIFTIS has become the world's first general exhibition for trade in services. The merger of the WWSE and the CIFTIS has achieved the effective integration of two world-class brand exhibition resources, providing a tremendous opportunity for the international development of China's ice and snow industry.
Continuing the theme of the "Power of Ice and Snow", take the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games as an opportunity, and aiming at "Connecting with international winter sports resources to urge the development of China's ice and snow industry", the WWSE 2020, through the full integration of the exhibitions, thematic forums, business matchmaking, and supporting activities, maintained the consistent three major highlights of “Internationalization, Industrialization, and Popularization and won the unanimous recognition of all sectors of the community.
On September 4, Mr. Han Zheng, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council, Mr. Hu Chunhua, Vice Premier of the State Council, and Mr. Cai Qi, Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and President of the Beijing Organising Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, visited the Austria Doppelmayr, Beijing Organising Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, and Italy TechnoAlpin stands. On the opening day of the WWSE, Mr. Cai Qi, Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and President of the Beijing Organising Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Mr. Chen Jining, Mayor of Beijing and Executive President of the Beijing Organising Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Mr. Li Yingchuan, Deputy Director General and member of the Party Leadership Group of the General Administration of Sport of China, Vice President of the Chinese Olympic Committee, Mr. Yin Yong, Vice Mayor of Beijing and Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, and Mr. Zhang Jiandong, Vice Mayor of Beijing, Executive Vice President of the Beijing Organising Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Vice President of the Beijing Olympic City Development Association, accompanied by Mr. Fu Xiaohui, Secretary General of the Beijing Olympic City Development Association and Director of the Beijing Olympic City Development Center, Mr. Gao Yunchao, Deputy Secretary General of the Beijing Olympic City Development Association and Deputy Director of the Beijing Olympic City Development Center, Mr. Hugo Shong, Co-Chairman of IDG Capital, Mr. Zhu Dongfang, President of IDG Asia, and Ms. Zhang Li, Vice President of IDG China, toured and inspected the stands such as the Beijing Organising Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Austrian National Pavilion, Norwegian National Pavilion, GISS-China, Doppelmayr, Burton, Eternal Star, Eurojoy, Chinese Olympic Committee, Nortec, Carving Ski, Shijingshan, Yanqing, Yulin in Shaanxi, Jilin and Altay Prefecture in Xinjiang, Changbai Mountain, Snow51, and Cloud WWSE, and affirmed the work for convening this edition of WWSE.
This WWSE has attracted nearly 20 major countries to the exhibition, covering some 500 Chinese and foreign brands. To be specific, international brands account for more than 60%. Almost 200 domestic and international government leaders, officials of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and international sports organizations, executives, experts of domestic/foreign ice and snow companies and industry elites were present in the event. During the event, 600 media agencies kept a track of the entire process, releasing more than 2,500 reports, More than 20 platforms provided the live video broadcast, eliciting nearly 10 million views. Besides, this event was reported in full by the media agencies of the Central Government and the authorities including People's Daily, Xinhua News Agency, the Central People's Broadcasting Station, CCTV, China Radio International, China News Agency and Beijing Daily, with regard to how the WWSE 2020 better integrates the ice and snow economy with trade in services, how it helps revive the ice and snow sports, how it has prepared for the upcoming Winter Olympics in five years and how it sparks off the passion of the public for ice and snow sports.
Pool together international forces to fuel the development of global sports industry:
Thanks to the 2022 Winter Olympics, the world ice and snow industry has been on the track of rapid development and expansion. In this year’s WWSE, global sports professionals and giants of the ice and snow industry focused on the ice and snow part of the Winter Olympics, intelligent sports and other popular topics, expressing their views and exchange experiences. In do this, they might explore diversified development opportunities of the global sports industry against the epidemic control.
At the opening ceremony and main conference of the 2020 WWSE, many domestic and international guests warmly congratulated on the hosting of the event. On the other hand, officials from the General Administration of Sport of China, the Beijing Organising Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (BOCOG) and the embassies of Norway, Austria and Finland provided a lot of important data and references regarding the current development of ice and snow sports in China and around the world. Discussions on the development and integration of the global sports industry were carried out in deeper dimensions.
Thomas Bach, the President of the International Olympic Committee, said in a video speech that holding the Expo in the Olympic city of Beijing sends a strong signal of confidence, “The world of sport is ready to contribute to the recovery from the crisis and to rebuilding a more human centered and inclusive society.” He also said that the World Winter Sports Expo is the perfect platform to highlight this important contribution of sport to the recovery. The expo is also an important step as China gets ready to welcome the world's best winter sport athletes in 2022.
“Since the implementation of China's strategy of southward development, westward expansion and eastward progression in ice and snow sports, the industry has quicken its leaping pace,” said Li Yingchuan, Deputy Director of the General Administration of Sport of China and Vice President of the Chinese Olympic Committee. It is estimated that the total capacity of China's ice and snow industry is expected to reach RMB 1 trillion by 2025. On the other hand, the Economic Division of the General Administration of Sport of China revealed the growth data of 2019 snowfields business. In 2019, China's ski resorts topped 770 and skating halls reached 388, 4.3% and 16.1% up respectively from the same period of 2018; the number of people engaged in skiing activities was greatly increased. According to incomplete statistics, as of last year, the skiing Chinese exceeded 20 million people, 16% up from 2018.
Mr. Zhang Jiandong, Vice Mayor of Beijing, Executive Vice President of the Beijing Organising Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Vice President of the Beijing Olympic City Development Association, said in his speech, "I hope that everyone can make full use of the WWSE platform and give full play to your respective advantages to achieve more fruitful results through in-depth negotiations and cooperation with the down-to-earth attitude. I also hope that the organizers of the WWSE will further innovate the organization and operation mode, and cooperate closely with all parties at home and abroad on this more open and higher-level platform of the CIFTIS, so as to continuously improve the level of hosting the event, to promote the high-quality development of ice and snow sports and the ice and snow industry, and to make new and greater contributions to hosting a wonderful, extraordinary and outstanding Olympic event.”
The main conference was participated in by many distinguished guests from all over the world in the form of physical presence or online video, including Mr. Juan Antonio Samaranch, member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Chairman of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission, Ms. Annika Saarikko, Minister of Science and Culture of Finland, Mr. Olle Dahlin, President of the International Biathlon Union (IBU), Ms. Sarah Lewis, Secretary General of the International Ski Federation (FIS) and ex-officio member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission, Mr. Günther Platter, Governor of Tyrol, Austria, Dr. Friedrich Stift, Austrian Ambassador to China, Ms. Signe Brudeset, Norwegian Ambassador to China, Mr. Jarno Syrjala, Finnish Ambassador to China, Mr. Emanuele de Maigret, charge d'affaires and Minister Counsellor of the Embassy of the Republic of Italy in China, Dr. Michael Berger, Commercial Counsellor of the Embassy of the Republic of Austria in China, Mr. Knut Sorlie, Minister Counsellor of the Royal Norwegian Embassy in China, Mr. Han Zirong, Vice President (Full Time) and Secretary General of the Beijing Organising Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Mr. Liu Jingmin, Executive Vice President of the Beijing Olympic City Development Association, Mr. Wang Wei, Vice President of the Beijing Olympic City Development Association, Mr. Jiang Xiaoyu, Vice President of the Beijing Olympic City Development Association, Mr. Liu Fumin, Director General of the Department of Sports Economy of the General Administration of Sport of China, Mr. Piao Xuedong, Director of the Market Development Department of the Beijing Organising Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Ms. Wang Meimei, Deputy Director of the China Disabled Persons’ Federation, Mr. Yin Peiyan, Deputy Secretary-General of the People's Government of Beijing Municipality, Mr. Zhao Wen, Director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports, Mr. Fu Xiaohui, Secretary General of the Beijing Olympic City Development Association, Mr. Zhao Yinggang, Deputy Director of the Sustainable Development Committee of the Beijing Organising Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and President of the Chinese Association of Sled, Mr. Wang Ku, Secretary of the Party & Labour Union, and Management Committee Director of the Changbai Mountain Protection and Development Zone, Mr. He Zhiliang, Mayor of Jilin City, Jilin Province, Mr. Zhang Shengli, Deputy Mayor of Yulin City, Shaanxi Province, Mr. Lan Shengxin, Member of the Party Committee and Deputy Commissioner of Altay Prefecture, Mr. Zhu Dongfang, President of IDG Asia, and Ms. Zhang Li, Vice President of IDG China, who jointly facilitated the innovation and development of the world ice and snow industry.
For a deeper exchange and cooperation of the international resources, this WWSE, in addition to the main conference, also set up nearly 20 parallel forums such as the Olympic City Development Forum, Competition of Ice and Snow Entrepreneurship, Ice and Snow Equipment Forum, Winter Sports Talent Development Forum, Shijingshan Special Promotion Conference, Winter Olympics Science and Technology Forum, Venue Design and Construction Forum, Forum on Ice and Snow Popularization for Teenagers, International Ice & Snow Tourism Development Forum, Ski Resorts Operation and Management Forum, and Yanqing Thematic Forum, as well as a number of promotion activities such as the Altay Prefecture Special Promotion Conference, which gathered the global wisdom and promoted the global interconnection to achieve international win-win cooperation and mutual benefit in the sports industry.
The radiating spell of ice and snow fuels the momentum of the 2022 Winter Olympics:
During the five-day event, tens of thousands of visitors felt the spectacle in the China National Convention Center exhibition hall and the outdoor exhibition hall on the south side of the Linglong Tower. Austria, Norway, France, Japan, Italy, Finland, Iceland, Slovenia, Germany, the USA, the Czech Republic and other major powers of ice and snow organized delegations to participate in the exhibition, a detailed display of the strength and resources of ice and snow of these countries. With the gradual deepening of cooperation between countries and China in winter sports, this event has become an important force for faster construction and preparation of the 2022 Winter Olympics.
A business division leader of the Austrian Embassy in China, which participated in the WWSE for the fifth time, came with a delegation of brand enterprises of ice and snow, saying that Austria not only brought many quality products and services, but also brought the program of "1,000 Ski Instructors for China". During the training, top Austrian ski instructors came to China, and by combining indoor alpine ski simulator and natural snow, they implemented an innovative, safe and efficient teaching system. In doing this, every participant was enabled to have a deep understanding of the international top ski culture and technology.
The 2022 BOCOG exhibition area introduced the knowledge of the Winter Olympics, roller curling venues, skiing simulation experience and ice car experience, enabling the visitor to experience the latest achievements of the Winter Olympic preparations in advance. In Yanqing District, Shijingshan District and Shougang booth, there were activities such as curling, skiing, ice rink performances and shows, VR experience, all of which made the visitor feel closer to the joy of winter ice and snow sports. The Olympic champion Shen Xue made a surprising appearance in the Olympic-themed exhibition area, where she had a friendly dialogue with the visitor. A group of children gave the figure skating performance, eliciting great praises. Watching them dancing on the ice rink, many viewers exclaimed, thinking the talent reserve for the Chinese ice and snow is growing bigger.
The delegations of Jilin, Changbai Mountain, Altay and other provincial and municipal pavilions made their appearances in the winter destinations and provincial and municipal exhibition pavilions, to showcase the local ethnic features as well as scenic spots, resort hotels, tourist routes and other winter amusement programs of ice and snow. These activities were really a great appeal to quite a lot of people.
The delegation of Yulin, Shaanxi Province brought to the venue the special launch meeting for the "Yulin Cashmere as the top cold-resisting material" in local cashmere industry. Amid the songs of Xintianyou and north Shaanxi style, the local characteristics of the cashmere clothing, fashion, ethnic elements were mixed with ice and snow sports in a cross-border way, to have attracted a lot of visitors who needed a better understanding.
In addition, Austria Doppelmayr, Austria AST, Czech Alpine, Slovenia Elan, Italy TechnoAlpin and many other internationally-known enterprise brands came for access to industries and for exchanges through the WWSE platform. Eternal Star, Carving Ski, Nortec and other well-known domestic enterprises of ice and snow also brought their most advanced equipment, tools and gears to the WWSE venue. Because of this, the guests may experience and play curling in the ice rink with CO2 cross-critical direct cooling system, to know how it feels what the artificial snow was.
A ‘frozen’ experience to spark off the public passion for ice and snow:
After General Secretary Xi Jinping called for "300 million people to participate in the ice and snow sports", the enthusiasm for this industry has been greatly activated. It is learned that the total capacity of China's growth will be up to RMB 600 billion this year, and after Beijing's successful bid for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, China's new ice rinks are expanding rapidly at an annual growth rate of at least 20%. As the sports strategy of "Southward Development, Westward Expansion and Eastward Progression" is being advanced, the tourism infrastructure for ice and snow is improved. The market size of the tourism industry is continuing to expand, and the talent reserve for ice and snow in China is steadily growing.
At this year's expo, the visitors further understood the glamour of ice and snow sports through the diverse experience activities. These activities have gathered strength for continuously demonstrating the Olympic spirit and spreading the ice and snow culture under development.
Despite the heat of more than 30℃outside, visitors were able to get in close touch with ice and snow at the China National Convention Center and Linglong Tower exhibition areas. Throughout all dimensions, visitors sampled the vitality of today's industry and sports of ice and snow in Public Ice and Snow Experience, Ice Rink Performances and Shows, Ice and Snow Carnival, Public Ice and Snow Shopping Day, Curling Experience, Snow51 Skiing Experience, Winter Sports and Outdoor Equipment Show and other activities.
Popular activities for ice and snow aficionados, such as Ice and Snow Carnival, Public Ice and Snow Shopping Day, and Winter Sports and Outdoor Equipment Show, had attracted a large number of visitors for viewing and interaction. Among them, a number of outdoor equipment and devices present for ice and snow sports, such as alpine skiing, ski jumping, ice skating and curling, were strikingly appealing to visitors. Meanwhile many also queued for trying the advanced VR/AR technology, by which they could experience the fun of ice and snow sports in a virtual world.
Additionally, the cool large-sized facilities of ice and snow also gained great attention from the visitors. The new-generation D-Line in the Doppelmayr booth had built-in mobile phone chargers, heated seats, a visual intercom system and other new features, allowing the visitors to experience the ice and snow technology ahead of the Olympic athletes. The movable and foldable ski simulator in the Snow51 booth greatly reduced the limit for ice and snow sports to enter the campus, thereby causing the culture and knowledge of ice and snow to be more popularized. At Eurojoy's Ice & Snow booth, the setup of the ice rink only took 48 hours, adding a hint of "Ice & Snow Rush" to the venue. The progress made in these ice and snow technologies have fully activated the enthusiasm of visitors for ice and snow sports. In that case, the progress of winter sports in China will be made, so that more ordinary people pay attention to ice and snow sports and become part of them.
At the expo, the selection results list of the "World Winter Sports Top Brands - TOP 10 SKI RESORTS" was announced, including the Wanlong Paradise Resort, Lake Songhua Resort, Thaiwoo Ski Resort, Genting Resort Secret Garden, BDH Ski Resort, Yabuli Sun Mountain Ski Resort, Changbaishan Ski Resort, Silk Road International Ski Resort, Fulong Ski Park, Altay Jiangjunshan Mountain Ski Resort, which undoubtedly injected a booster shot for the upcoming peak season of the ice and snow tourism, thus pushing forward the expansion and development of China's winter sports industry and ice and snow industry. In addition, the WWSE planned three awards for exhibitors, namely "Innovative Product Award", "Top Design Award" and "Best Popularity Award". The awards were presented to the winners on September 8 at the public stage. To outstanding exhibitors, the organizer of the WWSE also went to the booths and held the awarding ceremony for "Excellent Display Prize".
Cloud WWSE is always online, as an abiding platform for connecting industries:
The WWSE 2020 has closed, yet the enthusiasm of ice and snow companies and the public will not fade. Reportedly, the exhibitions, the thematic forums and other information of the WWSE have been live broadcast through WWSE app, the official website, the WeChat public account, and the online CIFTIS platform. Moreover, the online exhibition and forum can still be accessed again and connected immediately.
On the other hand, a new online winter sports platform built using modern information technology, called Cloud WWSE, will continue to be online. By attracting international well-known brands as well as quality buyers at home and abroad, it has created 2.5D booths or 3D special booths. In that case, the Cloud WWSE will become a winter sports platform that never closes all the year round. As a platform for connecting the ice and snow industry, the Cloud WWSE will also carry out regular connection tasks throughout the year, such as"cloud connection", "cloud negotiation", "cloud signing", in order to promote the signing on the key programs of 2020 ice and snow industry.
Through the deep integration with international ice and snow resources and on the basis of the forefront of the world ice and snow industry, the WWSE will continue to strengthen international exchanges and cooperation, take advantage of the event as the world’s top ice and snow exhibition, and comprehensively bolster the integration with international sports, science and technology, culture and tourism, health and other industries for a better development. In doing these, the WWSE may provide an all-round facilitator to the preparation and construction of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games.
For more information about WWSE, please visit http://www.wwse2022.com/ or follow the WeChat public account "World Winter Sports (Beijing) Expo".
